Vegan polenta pizza with cilantro pepita lime pesto is a fabulous appetizer or light meal. A polenta pizza crust is topped with cilantro pepita lime pesto, tomato, and nut or seed ‘Parmesan cheese’ for a fun and different pizza that you will love.
Brightening up your Thursday with something fun, fresh, and delicious: polenta pizza with cilantro pesto! And the timing couldn’t be better. As I wrote in my last post, the theme of this week’s recipes is Mother’s Day. I kicked things off with Mediterranean Lentil Veggie Burgers (my mom’s favourite veggie burgers), and I’ll be closing out the week with a raw vegan banana cream pie (one of her favourite desserts, although I’m sure she wishes I would have found a way to incorporate chocolate into it).
But let’s talk about this pizza, shall we? Polenta is a dish that always makes me think of my mom. One of her signature dinners growing up was deep dish polenta pie. It had a polenta crust that was filled with tons of veggies, tomato sauce, and generous amounts of cheese, and it was one of the few meals that I gobbled up without protest. (Hmmm, I wonder if the generous amounts of cheese had anything to do with it? Ha!)
Later on, once I had acquired a taste for vegetables, my mom and I would always make a vegetarian chili on polenta (the one from Rose Reisman’s Light Vegetarian cookbook- a very 90s, yet very delicious, collection of recipes, I might add) whenever my dad and brother were away for the weekend at hockey tournaments. I have such fond memories of our “girls weekends!” For those two reasons, I will always equate polenta with my wonderful mom!
Thus, I thought it was only fitting to share a pizza recipe using polenta as the crust to share as a Mother’s Day appetizer with you today.
let’s talk details about this polenta pizza
If you have never made polenta before, it is incredibly simple. All that you need is water, cornmeal, sea salt, perhaps some vegan Parmesan or regular Parmesan if you eat dairy, and extra virgin olive oil. If you use finely ground cornmeal, which seems to be the most commonly available variety, it cooks up on the stovetop in five minutes. Simply whisk it pretty much constantly for five minutes over medium-low heat (being careful that it doesn’t bubble up onto your skin, as it’s very hot), until it thickens up. (Many polenta recipes call for coarsely ground cornmeal, which takes longer to cook. In this recipe, I call for finely ground cornmeal, but if coarsely ground cornmeal (sometimes called polenta) is all that you have, feel free to use it- it will just take a bit longer to cook.)
Because we’re using it as our pizza crust, once the polenta has cooked and cooled enough for you to handle it, you’ll transfer it onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and, with wet hands, press it outward from the centre until you have your desired pizza crust thickness. I like a crust that is neither too thick nor too thin; you can refer to my photos to see the thickness of my polenta pizza crust.
Additionally, I will say that you can make two smaller round polenta pizzas if you so desire. I made one gigantic rectangle to fit my baking sheet, though.
You’ll then bake the crust at 425 F for 22-27 minutes, until golden brown on top and crispy around the edges. While it’s baking, you’ll prepare your cilantro lime pepita pesto. I went with a Mexican-themed pesto because I think that it goes particularly well with the corn polenta, but you could also make a more Mediterranean pesto by using basil or parsley in place of the cilantro, almonds, walnuts, or sunflower seeds in place of the pepitas, and lemon in place of the lime. That would be delicious, too!
I kept additional toppings to a minimum since I served this as a side dish with this Quinoa Black Bean Salad–I simply diced up a tomato and sprinkled it all with some additional vegan parmesan. But the sky is really the limit as far as toppings go. Pickled jalapeños, roasted corn, peppers, and zucchini, black beans, olives… all would be delicious additions to this southwestern-themed pizza!
ingredients you’ll need for this recipe
For the crust, you’ll need water, cornmeal, salt, vegan Parmesan (recipe included), and extra virgin olive oil.
For the cilantro lime pepita pesto, you’ll need pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), cilantro, lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, sea salt, and pepper. You can even spice things up a bit by adding a chopped jalapeno pepper.
For the vegan parmesan, you’ll need raw nuts or seeds of your choice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and sea salt.
And that’s it! Pretty easy, if I do say so myself.
the method
Detailed instructions can be found on my recipe card, as always. But I like to include them in the body of the post as well for some of you people who like an overview beforehand.
Start by making the polenta: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch of sea salt and gradually whisk in the cornmeal until no lumps remain. Turn down heat to medium low and whisk often until polenta thickens, five to ten minutes. Whisk in the vegan parmesan, if using, and the olive oil. The consistency should be on the thick side. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool enough so that you can safely handle it without burning your hands.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the polenta into the middle of the pan. Wet your hands and press the polenta down from the centre outwards until you have a rough oval or rectangle that is neither too thick nor too thin. I believe that mine was around 1/2 an inch thick.
Bake the polenta pizza crust for 22-27 minutes, until golden brown and crisp around the edges. It will firm up more as it cools.
Meanwhile, make the pesto: Place the pepitas in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade and process until coarsely ground. Add the cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth and creamy, pausing to scrape down sides with a spatula as needed.
Assemble: Spread all of the pesto over the pizza crust and top with any other desired toppings. You can enjoy as is for a super fresh tasting pesto pizza, or pop it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes if you added cheese and you want it to melt.
Finally, slice and enjoy!
some interesting nutrition facts
One slice of this pizza delivers a hefty amount of B vitamins, particularly thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6. B vitamins all play an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Vitamin B6 is one vitamin that can actually boost your mood, as it helps in the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. Pretty interesting stuff!
more alternative pizza crust recipes
If you’re looking for more pizza crust recipes that don’t require any wheat flour or yeast, be sure to check out my other ones:
- Sweet Potato Pizza Crust (Vegan and Gluten-Free)
- Buckwheat Pizza Crust + Cheese Bread (GF + Yeast-Free)
And that’s all I have to say for now. I must get busy writing my next post for the raw vegan banana cream pie recipe. It’ll be live first thing Saturday morning at the latest. Until then, I hope that you love this vegan polenta pizza! If you make it, let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you post a photo to Instagram, be sure to tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Enjoy!
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Vegan Polenta Pizza with Cilantro Pepita Lime Pesto
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 27 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
Description
Vegan polenta pizza with cilantro pepita lime pesto is a fabulous appetizer or light meal. A polenta pizza crust is topped with cilantro pepita lime pesto, tomato, and nut or seed ‘Parmesan cheese’ for a fun and different pizza that you will love.
Ingredients
Polenta Crust
- 3 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 cup fine ground cornmeal
- Pinch sea salt
- 1/2 cup vegan Parmesan (recipe follows- optional but recommended)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Cilantro Pepita Lime Pesto
- 1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds- these can be raw or roasted; it’s up to you)
- 2 packed cups cilantro, tough stems removed
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Optional: 1 jalapeno, chopped
Topping Ideas
- Diced tomato
- Sliced olives
- Roasted zucchini, peppers, corn, and onion
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Roasted sweet potato
- Vegan Parmesan, feta, cotija, or Monterey Jack cheese
- Black beans or pinto beans
Vegan Parmesan
- 1 cup raw nuts or seeds of choice (I like a combination of cashews and hemp)
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2–1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Start by making the polenta: Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch of sea salt and gradually whisk in the cornmeal until no lumps remain. Turn down heat to medium low and whisk often until polenta thickens, five to ten minutes. Whisk in the vegan parmesan, if using, and the olive oil. The consistency should be on the thick side. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool enough so that you can safely handle it without burning your hands.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the polenta into the middle of the pan. Wet your hands and press the polenta down from the centre outwards until you have a rough oval or rectangle that is neither too thick nor too thin. I believe that mine was around 1/2 an inch thick.
Bake the polenta pizza crust for 22-27 minutes, until golden brown and crisp around the edges. It will firm up more as it cools.
Meanwhile, make the pesto: Place the pepitas in a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade and process until coarsely ground. Add the cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth and creamy, pausing to scrape down sides with a spatula as needed.
Assemble: Spread all of the pesto over the pizza crust and top with any other desired toppings. You can enjoy as is for a super fresh tasting pesto pizza, or pop it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes if you added cheese and you want it to melt.
To make the Parmesan: Add all ingredients to a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade and process until a sandy consistency is reached, similar to powdered Parmesan cheese.
Keywords: vegan polenta pizza with pesto
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